1913 Unic Type C9 Landaulette Taxicab
Offered by Bonhams | Beaulieu, U.K. | September 6, 2014
Unic was founded in France in 1905 by Georges Richard (formerly of Georges Richard and later, Brasier) and in 1938 they shifted their concentration from automobiles to commercial vehicles. In the 1950s, Unic became part of Simca and a few years later, was acquired by Saurer. Fiat became the major shareholder in 1966. Unic was one of the firms amalgamated into IVECO in 1975.
Unic sold passenger cars in a range of models and power outputs. The Type C9 was new for 1913 and it is powered by a straight-four making 12/14-horsepower. It was extremely popular among taxi companies and the United Motor Cab Company of London ordered this one.
It is thought that this taxi left service and immediately was transported to the U.S. as a collectors item. It was mechanically sorted in 2010 and ran well, although it might need some additional work to get it roadworthy today. These were very popular European taxis shortly after the turn of the century and it would be a very cool ride today. It should sell for between $47,000-$54,000. click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Update: Sold $44,484.